Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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RUNNING SOLE FOR SHOES, ESPECIALLY SPORTS SHOES, WITH
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ADJUSTA~LE HEEL C~SHION
The invention relates to a running sole for shoes,
especially for sports shoes, having soft resilient plastic
in the heel region.
In a known sports shoe sole of this type, for example
as shown in DE-OS 29 04 540, there are provided in the sole
body, under the surface contacted by the heel, several
recesses which extend transversely to the longitudinal
direction of the sole and into which supporting bodies can
be pushed from the lateral .sole edge. The running sole
10 consists of a relatively softly resilient plastic material
and, without additional stiffening by means of the
supporting bodies, is intended only for lightweight runners.
However, the hardness and consequently the cushioning
capacity of the running sole in the heel region can be
15 varied by th~e choice of supporting bodies which are hard
and/or resi~stant to bending ko different degrees, so that it
is possl~ble to adapt lt to~meet the individual requirements
of~runners of any weight.
To guarantee that the supporting bodies a~e retained
2Q in their associated recesses even under the bending and
compression stress on the sole which occurs during use, the
recesses are~open at both sole edges, and the supporting
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bodies have at their two ends flanges or the like, which can
abut on the sole edge, to prevent the support bodies from
being pushed out in either direction. Alternatively, the
supporting bodies can each consist of two parts ~Ihich can be
S pushed into the associated recess from sole edges located
opposite one another and which can be connected positively
and/or non-positively to one another in the interior of the
opening However, a continuous design of the openings is
really only practical when the recesses extend transversely
10 to the longitudinal direction of the sole, since otherwise a
recess extending in the longitudinal direction of the sole
would have to pass along the entire sole length. However,
difficulties arise, here, when adjustable heel cushioning is
also to be effected near to the rear edge of the sole and at
15 which the foot begins to make contact, because, as a result
of the rounding of the sole normally present at the rear,
transverse recesses are relatively short there, and
correspondingly short supporting bodies inserted in them,
make them sufficiently effective only as a result of a
20 compressibility of their material, but not because of the
flexibility.
The primary object of the lnvention is, therefore, to
design a running sole of the type described, in such a way
that the supporting bodies can also produce theic supporting
25 effect near to the sole edge located on the same side as the
heel.
According to the present invention, there is provided
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a running sole for a shoe, said sole comprising a sole body
of softly resilient material in the heel region, said body
having a longitudinal axis, an upper surface of said body
located below the heel of the wearer and a lower surface of
the body, a rear edge and two side edges of the body joined
by said rear edge, a first generally longitudinally
extending recess formed in the body, below the upper surface
and above the lower surface and opening at one edge thereof,
at least one generally transversely extending second recess
10 in the body below the upper surface and above the lower
surface and opening into at least one of said two side
edges, said at least one second recess intersecting said
first recess, a first springably compressible and/or
flexible supporting body exchangeably insertable into said
15 first recess and having a cross-section largely filling the
cross-section of said first recess, a second springably
compressible and/or flexible supporting body exchangeably
insertable into the or each second recess, and having a
cross-section largely fllling the cross-section of said
20 second recess, at least one opening in one of said first and
second supporting bodies and a portion of said second
supporting body or a portion of said first supporting body
engageable in the or each opening in said first or second
s~upporting body respectively.
Wlth s~ch a construction, two recesses are therefore
provided, the axes of which run at an angle of, for example,
~90 and which meet in the sole body under the surface
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contacted by the heel. The first recess which extends
generally in the longitudinal direction o~ the sole can
start from the rear edge of the sole, whil.st the or each
second recess extending transversely to the longitudinal
direction of the sole is open towards the lateral sole edge.
The first supporting body can have a sufficient length to
ensure that not only its elastic compressibility but also
its flexibility is put into effect for controlling the
cushioning capacity of the sole. However, since the first
10 recess has a blind end for obvious reasons, it is necessary
to ensure that the supporting body inserted in it can not be
pushed out during use. This is achieved by the second
supporting body or bodies being pushed in from the side edge
of the sole edge via the associated second recess(es) into
15 the opening(s) of the first supporting body. Alternatively
the first supporting body may be engaged in an opening
provided in the second supporting body. Preferably, the
inserted supporting body is locked in the opening in the
other body 50 that the two supporting bodies are interlocked
20 and prevent one another from slipping out. A particularly
effective interlock is obtained when at least one of the
openings in the first supporting body passes transversely
through the supporting body and is aligned with a lateral
recess passing completely through the sole width, and a
25 rod-shaped second supporting body, for example, according to
DE-OS 2904540, can be pushed into the second recess and
through the opening which extends right through the first
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supporting body. This rod-shaped supporting body can be
provided with flanges at its two ends on the sole edge for
engaging positively and/or non-positively in the recess, so
that it is secured against being pushed out even under the
squee2ing stress on the sole. Moreover, the continuous
opening provided in the first supporting body ~oes not have
to be surrounded completely by the supporting body, but can
al o form in its topside or underside a groove through which
the second supporting body extends.
The first recess and correspondingly, the first
supporting body can be arranged symmetrically relative to
the heel vertex line and the sole centre line. However, it
may be expedient to incline this recess at an acute angle to
the sole centre line, so that the mouth of the recess at the
15 sole edge is offset outwards. Consequently, the first
supporting body is located with its reac end in the region
oE the point where the heel makes contact, and the
rolling-off action can approximately follow the path of this
supporting body. According to this angular offset, the
20 second recess or recesses and associated supportlng bodies
can also be arranged offset or pivoted the~same amount and
in the same direction, so that pronation and the subsequent
anti-pronation during the rolling-off action can be taken
into account as a result.
Furthermore, the first recess and the first
supporting body arranged in it can also be curved or
arcuate, and for the reasons given above the arc starts from
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the sole centre line and runs towards the outside of the
heel.
Advantageously, the recesses and consequently also the
supporting bodies have a shallow rectangular cross-section,
that is to say the supporting bodies are plate-shaped, so
that a "platform" can be produced in the running sole under
t?~e sur~ace contacted by the heel merely by means of two
supporting bodies, and the resilience (flexibility and
compressibility) of this platform can be varied according to
10 requirements by means of an appropriate choice of hardness
and/or resistance to bending of the supporting bodies. To
prevent edges of the supporting body from becoming
noticeable on the sole in an adverse way, the upper limiting
surfaces of the recesses appropriately lie in a common
plane.
15 This is not absolutely necessary as regards the lower
limiting surfaces; here, the cushioning behaviour of the
sole can likewise be influenced by means of a different
height of the recesses and consequently a different
thickness of the supporting bodies.
~0 In the design of the invention which is described
later, the sole body has two recesses which extend at an
angle to one another and which thus allow a correspondingly
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angular "platform" formed by the supporting bodies.
Appropriately, the second recess is made in the outwardly
25 directed half of the sole body, so that the cushioning
capacity can be controlled in this region over which the
rolling-off action of the foot from the heel ta~kes place.
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If, according to a further design, the inward-directed
part of the running sole is also to be adjustable in terms
of its cushioning capacity, then the transverse recess can
open towards the two opposite side edges, and the supporting
bodies are interlocked with one another because the first
supporting body has, on its two opposite sides, an opening
~or locking the two second supporting bodies, or a
continuous second supporting body has an opening in its rear
side, so that the end of the first supporting body can be
10 fastened in it.
In order that the invention will more readily be
understood, the following description .is given, merely by
way of example, reference being made to the acco~panying
drawings, in which:-
Figure 1 is a partial side elevation of a sports shoe
with one embodiment of running sole according to the
invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-section taken along the lilne
II~II in Figure l; and
2~ Figures 3 and 4 are a similar side elevation and
section of a second embodiment of same.
The sports shoe illustrated in Figure 1 has a running
sole 1 which is composed of a heel wedge 2, an intermediate
sole 3 and a profile sole 4 profiled in any form. ~he heel
25 wedge 2 and the intermediate sole 3 consist of EVA, the heel
wedge having a C-Shore hardness of 55 to 58 and the
intermediate sole having a C-Shore hardness of approxlmately
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45; the profile sole 4 consists of a wear-resistant rubber
or the like. The individual sole parts are joined to one
another by means of qluing or as a result of direct
connection during the shaping operation.
As seen in Figure 2, the intermediate sole 3 has, in
the region under the wearer's heel a recess in the foem of a
groove 5 which opens into the rear edge of the sole and
~hich has a shallow rectangular cross-section and is
likewise rectangular in a horizontal projection (Figure 2~.
10 The groove 5 extends beyond the point of the intermediate
sole 3 which is located under the heel-bone curvature of the
foot. Two transverse grooves 6 and 7 are formed in the
intermediate sole 3 at an angle of 90 to groove 5, the
3roove 6 extending from the inner sole edge and the groove 7
15 ~rom the outer sole edge into the opening 5, so that they
intersect the latter. Since the transverse grooves 6 and 7
~re aligned with one another and also correspond to one
an~ther in respect of their cross-sectional form, they could
be considered as a single groove 7 which opens into the sole
2~ opposite edges and which intersects the longitudinal opening
5~ In the embodiment illustrated, the cross-sectional forms
of the grooves 5, 6 and 7 correspond to one another; their
upper limiting surface lies in the same plane which is the
lower limiting plane of the heel wedge 2.
Inserted into the longitudinal groove 5 is a
supporting body 10 which fills this groove completely and
the length of which is calculated so that at the rear edge
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of the sole it projects only slightly beyond this rear edge
(see Figure l); the projecting length is, for example, only
2 to 3 mm. The supporting body 10 has openings 11 which are
formed in its two side faces so as to correspond to one
another, but are arranged symmetrically relative to its
centre line, and which pass through the entire thickness of
the supporting body 10 and are essentially rectangular.
Starting from the side edge of the supporting body 10 the
openings 11 taper somewhat, thus forming guiding surfaces
10 12, and following the guiding surfaces 12 they have
re-entrant portions 13 which are located opposite one
another and, as is evident from Figure 2, are rounded.
Inserted into the transverse grooves 6 and 7 are supporting
bodies 16 and 17 respectively, which likewise fill the
15 associated grooves completely and the inner ends of which
have a form matching that of the openings 11 in the region
of re-entrant portion 13 of the latter. Since both
the supporting body 10 and the supporting bodies 16, 17
consist of an elastically resilient material, for example
20 polyurethane, the end of the transverse supporting bodies
16, 17 can be pressed into the associated orifice 11, so
that the lateral projections 14 formed at this end and
located opposite one another snap elastically into the
portion 13, and the supporting bodles 10, 16 and~17 are
25 interlocked in this way. The length of the transveese~
supporting bodies 16, 17 is also arranged so that they
project only a slight extent beyond the~assoclated lateral
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sole edge. All the supporting bodies 10, 16 and 17 have, at
the end adjacent to the sole edge, gripping notches 18 by
means of which they can be grasped and pulled out by hand or
by means of a tool. It goes without saying that it is
possible to pull out the supporting body 10 only when the
two transverse supporting bodies 16, 17 have previously been
pulled out after the positive retention has been overcome as
a result of elastic deformation.
The supporting bodies 10, 16 and 17 are available in
10 different hardnesses and with different bending resistances,
so that by a suitable choice of these supporting bodies it
is possible to control the resilience of the "platform"
formed by them when they are inserted. There are many
possibilities of control, since each of these supporting
15 bodies 10, 16 and 17 can have different properites. It may
be expedient, in the embodiment illustrated, to make the
supporting bodies 16, 17 essentially deformable under
pressure, whilst the supporting body 10 extending in the
longitudinal direction is mainly deformable due to a bending
~orce and only allows a lower degree of deformation under
pressure. It goes without saying that the deformability of
the supporting bodies 16, 17 under pressure can vary from
one to the other.
A pocket is indicated by dot-and-dash lines in the
25 supporting body 17, this pocket extending downwards from the
upper surface of the supporting body, the pocket having an
intermediate surface which surrounds a portion of reduced
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cross-section which extends to the bottom of ~he supporting
body. A stiffening element having a ~orm corresponding to
that of the pocket can be inserted in this pocket, if
required It is thereby possible to vary the deformation
property of the supporting body 17 per se, for example over
its length. This can serve, for example, to keep the
deÇormability of the supporting body under pressure lower
near the sole edge than in the interior of the sole body.
The supporting bodies 10, 16 and 17 can be made with
10 different hardnesses. A grading ranging from 65 to 85
C-Shore hardness, for example in three steps, is
recommended.
In the embodiment of Figures 3 and ~, the design of
the sports shoe per se remains unchanged, so that the same
15 reference symbols are used for corresponding parts as in
Figures 1 and 2. However, the embodiment illustrated here
differs from that described previously in the type and
~esign of the recesses corresponding to grooves 5, 6 or 17
and of the supporting bodies inserted therein.
~0 As seen in Figure 4, an arcuately curved groove 5',
statting from the rear edge of the sole extends in the
longitudinal direction of the sole, its outer mouth being
offset towards the outside of the heel relative to the sole
centre line ML which is marked by a dot-and-dash line and
25 which coincides with the heel vertex line. Approximately
transverse to the longitudinal direction of the sole, there
are in the intermediate sole 3 two recesses 6', 7' of
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cylindrical cross-section, which are parallel to one another
and which both intersect the groove 5' and extend across the
entire sole width. Inserted into the longitudinal groove 5'
is a correspondingly formed supporting body 10' of
rectangular cross-section, which is provided with orifices
11', 11" passing transversely through its width. In the
inserted state, these orifices 11', 11" are aligned with the
transverse recesses 6', 7', so tha~ cylindrical rod-shaped
supporting bodies 16', 17' can be int~oduced from the
10 lateral sole edge and pushed through the orifices 11', 11".
The rod-shaped supporting bodies 16', 17' completely fill
the associated recesses 6', 7' and have annular ribs 19 and
flanges 20 adjacent and at their ends. Consequently, they
are retained securely both frictionally and positively -
15 because the annular ribs 19 are pressed into the wall of therecesses - and at the same time lock the supporting body lQ'
in its recess 5'. As seen in Figure 4, the orifices 11',
11" likewise have, at each of their ends, widened portions
which make it easier for the supporting bodies 16', 17', to
~0 be pushed in.
As regards the choice of material for the supporting
bodies lQ', 16' and 17', the same applies as was said
previously in connection with the embodiment according to
Figures 1 and 2. As distinct from the embodiment
25 illustrated, the supporting body 10', like the associated
opening 5', can be made straight and be arranged so that it
~o~ms with the sole centre line ML an acute angle of, for
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example, 10 to 15. In this case, it is expedient, as
explained in the introduction, also to "pivot" the
supporting bodies 16', 17' in the same direction through the
same angle and about the centre point of the surface
contacted by the heel, so that they pass through the sole
width obli~uely. The same arrangement can also be provided
di~ectly in the embodiment according to Figures 1 and 2. In
an~ c~se, it is essential merely that at least two
supporting bodies should be arranged at an angle to one
10 another in respect of their longitudinal extension, and
that, in contrast to the design according to DE-OS ~9 04 540
mentioned in the introduction, in which parts of one and
the same supporting body can each be connected to one
~noth~r, it should be possible to interlock them.
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